Indian Women’s Team head coach Thomas Dennerby has named the list of final 23 registered players for the forthcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup which is set to take place in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Pune, from January 20 onwards.

The players and support staff, who have already been camping in Kochi, Kerala since the team’s return from Brazil, will fly out to Mumbai on Thursday, January 13, 2022.

India have been drawn against IR Iran (January 20), Chinese Taipei (January 23) and China PR (January 26) in Group A of the competition that consists of 12 teams.

With as many as 15 players under the age of 25 in the relatively young squad, Dennerby believes that it would “the youngsters and the experienced bunch can help each other out, both on and off the pitch.”

“We have a good bunch of young players, and some experienced heads too. The young ones are hungry to prove themselves, so that brings in a good level of energy and healthy competition for places,” Dennerby averred. “But it also works the other way round — as the experienced players can guide the young ones in different things both on and off the pitch.”

The coach also maintained that the team is approaching “one game at a time.”

“If you start thinking too much about permutations and combinations, that can take a toll on the way you play the game. The coaches can do all the thinking that we can, but for the players, it’s all about going out there and playing well on the day. Football is a ‘beautiful game,’ and you need to live in the moment to play it well,” he said.

India WNT Squad

Goalkeepers
1 Aditi Chauhan, 19 Sowmiya Narayanasamy, 23 Maibam Linthoingambi Devi

Defenders
2 Sweety Devi Ngangbam, 3 Manisa Panna, 4 Loitongbam Ashalata Devi, 5 Hemam Shilky Devi, 8 Sanju Yadav, 17 Dalima Chhibber, 21 Ritu Rani

Midfielders
6 Yumnam Kamala Devi, 7 Nongmeithem Ratanbala Devi, 9 Anju Tamang, 12 Indumathi Kathiresan, 14 Naorem Priyangka Devi, 20 Karthika Angamuthu

Forwards
10 Pyari Xaxa, 11 Grace Dangmei, 13 Sandhiya Ranganathan, 15 Renu, 16 Manisha Kalyan, 18 Mariyammal Balamurugan, 22 Sumati Kumari

Officials
Thomas Dennerby (Head Coach)

India’s fixtures in Group A of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022

January 20: India vs Iran
January 23: Chinese Taipei vs India
January 26: India vs China PR

(AIFF Media)